Hearts of Gold
by Zutara-Princess
Summary: They miss each other. History is impossible to erase, despite their desperate attempts to forget and move on. What happens when they must come face to face with reality, and each other? [oneshot] [zutara]


**Zutara-Princess: Hiii! I have some cool links on my profile you might wanna check out. And if you wanna be my friend, just say so. I say yes to everyone who asks. I also ask a lot of people. And I haven't gotten a 'no' yet!**

**Zuko: That's cause you haven't gotton _any_ yet.**

**Zutara-Princess: Not true!**

**Zuko: Okay, name five friends.**

**Zutara-Princess: Uumm, well, I can't do that.**

**Zuko: Why not?**

**Katara: 'Cause she only has 8 friends.**

**Sokka: Huh? That makes no sense! Wouldn't she just name five of her 8 friends?**

**Zutara-Princess: You are all wrong. I do have 8 friends, but Zuko only wanted me to name five, and I don't wanna hafta pick beetween friends and than have the ones I don't name feel bad cause they didn't get their claim-to-fame!**

**Sokka: What? Who cares?**

**Aang: Be nice Sokka.**

**Zutara-Princess: Thank you, Aang.**

**Iroh: Does anyone have any tea?**

**Zutara-Princess: R an' R!**

**Zuko: Yeah!**

**Katara: I love you Zuko.**

**Everyone: HUH!**

**Zuko: What did you just say?**

**Katara: Oh, nothing...**

**Zutara-Princess**

**Hearts of Gold**

Katara stepped through the pine barrons cautiously. She hoped he would be there, she didn't think she could survive life without him.

She picked up the pace, moving swiftly through the brush, having memorized this path long ago. When she reached a clearing, over-looking the cliff where they had met so many times, the young water-bender wondered if he thought about her, the way she did him.

Sitting on the edge, asking herself how she could have ever been afraid of this place, Katara realized how much strength he had inspired in her. She remembered how scared she was of toppling over the edge, and how he had told her he would never let her fall. _"You have no reason to fear anything around me. If you are scared, I will protect you."_

She often wondered if he always meant what he said. And of course, she assured herself he did every time.

She let her legs dangle over the side of the tall, steep cliff, part of her wanting to jump off so she could fall and die, putting an end to her pain. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad. _It sure seems a lot better than this, _Katara thought bitterly.

If only he would come again, she would tell him how she felt. They had grown upon each other the past few days they spent together, and Katara missed talking to him. He seemed to understand her better than her own brother did.

Looking out at the sea, she watched the sun set on the horizon. Seeing it reminded her of how the two of them would watch it set every night, and suddenly her heart ached.

She couldn't beleive some of the things he had told her.

He had opened up to her, and had even been nice about it, or at least, he hadn't seemed reluctant. Telling her all of that though, it just didn't seem like something she had ever imagined arrogant, one-track minded Prince Zuko being capable of. But when he had, Katara gained a better understanding of him, and why he did everything he did.

And now, she knew the plot behind his pastence obbsession with Aang.

Zuko stood at the shore, watching the ocean. He never realized how beautiful it was, how serine it seemed. _Maybe that's how everything is,_ he thought to himself,_ beautiful to look at but deadly to take on first hand._

As soon as he felt the water lap at his feet, he realized that if he didn't get off of the shore soon he would be completely engulfed in the high tide. He began to walk away from the shore, thinking as he walked along.

While he walked, his mind wandered back to her. Shaking his head, he tried not to think about her, not wanting to suffer from his loss anymore. No one had ever affected him the way she had, and the thought that she had that much power over his emotions terrified him.

She was supposed to be his enemy, the one that he had hunted ever so passionately, along with the avatar. Before all of this happened, he used to think that if she was there, so was he. But now, it was the other way around.

If he is there, she is there. With the Avatar, always.

And suddenly, he was angry.

"Aaahgg!" He kicked the ground, causing himself to stumble slightly. She would always be with her precious avatar, but what about _him_? Didn't _he_ matter? After everything he had done, telling her his deepest secret! How dare she! He was Prince of the Fire Nation! He refused to be treated this way!

"Do I even matter to you!" He shouted at nothing, throwing his arms into the air.

Katara heard a shout and was suddenly on her feet, in a fighting stance. _What was that?_

It had come from the other side of the cove, by the shore. She took off in that direction to investigate.

She jogged towards the noise, on the off-chance someone was in danger. When there was another shout, her heart leaped. Though she could not tell what it was saying, she instantly recognized the voice. _Zuko!_

She ran faster. _He hasn't left yet! I still have a chance! _she thought excitedley. When she felt she was nearing the spot he was at she tried to slow down, but, being as enticed as she was at this fantastic opportunity, she didn't notice how fast she was going 'till it was too late.

She toppled over a large rose bush towards the prince, who was too preoccupied in his own thoughts to notice until a couple of seconds before impact.

"Aaahh-ooomph!" Katara screamed as her and the now stupefied Prince Zuko tumbled down into the shallow end of the water, only to have a rather small wave drench them both after they landed.

Zuko, his previous fury put aside to be replaced by a newfound one, stood up and tried to ring the water out of his shirt.

"What are you doing! That hurt!" he shouted, not realizing who had crashed into him.

"You're lucky I don't-"

But when he faced her he stopped. Looking into a pair of large sky-blue eyes, he realized who he was talking to.

"Katara?" he said in disbeleif.

The young girl was lost for words, and had no idea what to say to him. She couldn't believe that she was right there in his presence, ready to tell him exactly how she felt.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you left!" he said incrediously.

"Well I thought _you_ left!" she countered.

"I never said I was leaving!"

"Neither did I!"

"You never said you weren't!"

"What? So if I don't say that I'm not leaving then suddenly I am!"

"Yes!"

This was unbeleivable! Katara was almost beside herself with anger.

"Do you realize how stupid you sound right now!"

"Katara-" Zuko stopped. He knew that he shouldn't be yelling at her.

He was always trying to blame others, make them feel like everything was their fault and not his. He figured it was about time to break the habit.

There was a long pause, and then-

"I'm sorry." he said quietly, "I don't know what came over me. I really am glad to see you again though."

She put her anger away. She knew he meant it, just like everything else he said.

Katara was so happy just to see him she ran up and squeezed him tightly.

"Oh Zuko!" she cried, "I missed you!"

Zuko was so shocked at first he had absoutely no reaction to what was happening. When he got over his shock, however, he squeezed her back. "I missed you too."

They stayed like that for a while, clinging to each other like velcroe.

And as soon as they let go, Zuko immediately took her hand, trying to do this before he forgot.

"Come here." he said simply, as he led her away from the water towards a drop-off several feet up.

They stopped at the edge and Katara peered down, a slight uneasieness in her movements. Her thoughts were lost in what would happen, for although she was had spent the last few months soaring the skies atop a ten-ton flying bison, she still had a mutual fright of high places, for if she fell from here, the land would not swoop down and save her as Appa would.

Zuko could feel her hesitation and looked at her curiously.

"Do you trust me?" he said abruptly, breaking the silence.

Katara, having been caught up in her own world, was brought down to earth.

"Huh?"

"Do you trust me?" he repeated.

Katara wondered why he would ask her such a question. Wasn't the answer already a given?

"Of course I do Zuko."

Not fully believing her, he decided to see for himself.

"Will you prove it?" he asked.

"_What_?"

_I can't beleive this! _Katara thought. After all, she had _said_ she trusted him, wasn't that enough?

But now that the question was out there, she had no choice but to say yes, if she didn't, she would end up giving him the idea that she didn't.

"How?" she asked. The teenage waterbender hoped desperately that it had nothing to do with putting herself in danger.

"Turn around, and close your eyes," he told her.

Once this was done, he gently reached for her shoulder.

"Now fall back," he said, expecting hesitation, and that, of course, was exactly what he got.

Katara tensed. "But- but Zuko, we're right here, by the-"

"I thought you said you trusted me," Zuko told her, a slight hint of hurt in his voice.

"I do, but, I mean, if I fall back, I'd, I'd go over the edge, wouldn't I?" she asked. This was a crazy idea. Falling over a cliff on purpose was _not_ her defintition of proving trust.

"Just trust me Katara, you have nothing to be afraid of. I'll catch you, don't worry."

Katara still had her doubts. But alas, she was here, she might as well get it over with.

"Okay..."

She closed her eyes tightly, gritted her teeth and let herself slide backwords slowly. Her fists were balled and she had braced herself for impact with the icy water of the sea.

But it never came. Instead, she felt the warmth of his arms around her abdomen and his lips pressing tightly against hers. Katara's stomache fluttred pleasantly, and all of her breath left her.

Setting her down gently, he had one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her lower back. He pushed her head closer to him to deepen their passionate lip-lock, her arms slowly wrapping themselves around his neck. She opened her teeth to have his tounge push inside her mouth.

Zuko pulled his lips away, never breaking their tounge-war, and a small trail of saliva traveled down her cheek.

Finally they let go, both panting slightly, their faces flushed.

"Katara," he started.

Zuko was never any good with words, and saying 'I love you' would be especially hard, seeing as how corny it sounded if you didn't make a speech out of it. But what happened next left him almost speechless.

"Zuko, it's okay." Katara said, having the stangest feeling she knew what he was going to say, "Me too."

**Yayness! I love fluffy! Fluffy is so awesomeness! Go fluffy, go fluffy, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh. Mmm hmm, oh yes, indeed, uh-huh! (I got the indeed part from Timmy's dad, Dad, he so rox! I love Cosmo!)**

**Review! I'm serious! Mushi-mushi!**

**Kizzie**

**Zuty**

**Feckerz**

**Tobblez**

**Zotrox**

**Just felt like writing something wierd.**

**C ya l8er! nuin but luv 4 ya!**

**Zutara-Princess**


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